actor decided to move to belgium after his country social president issued a stiff tax hike to a rate of 85%. 85%. he pointed out he's paid all the taxes before departing the home country, and at 85%, that's $200 million in taxes. when are governments going to realize there's consequens to raising taxes. with the democrats in washington pay more attention if oprah threatened to turn in her passport? that's my two cents more. that's all for tonight's "willis report," and thank you for joining us. have a great night. see you right back here tomorrow. ♪ lou: good evening, everybody. a pounding deafening drum beat for gun control rising in the national media.

imnating from washington, the president, a members of his party in congress. the tragedy, at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, claimed the lives of 27 people, including 20 children understandably provoking calls for solutions, prevention of such bloodshed ever again. the di to control the inexplicable and the unpredictable. >> are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the case of such carnage? the politics are too hard? are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom? lou: several democratic lawmakers echoing the president's sentimentses within only hours of the shooting pushing for second amendment restrictions and tougher gun control laws nationwide. the senate's number two democrat

says congressional hearings on gun control are on the way. senator dianne feinstein of california determined to get an assaults weapon ban on the floor this week, and schumer of new york sensing a political opportunity outlining to task gun control legislation this time. >> i think we could be at a tipping point for two reasons, a tipping point where we might actually get something done. first, this was not a single incident. second, of course, it involved children. lou: enthusiasm for gun control red a feverish level at msnbc where one of the left wing host called for the outright taking of guns from citizens. ed schuls telling twitter followers that we are the constitution, and we, as the people, can change whatever we want. get ready, dude. the most zealous, not alone, 20

members of congress calls for new gun control laws while the details of what happened are far from clear. those legislators, members of the mocratii party, ignore the fact that guns were prohitted at or near that school, that all the guns had been legally purchased. former homeland security director, virginia tech review panel member, governor tom ridge says mental illness has been ignored in all of this. he and i will be taking up those issues here tonight. speaker boehner, tax hikes for the rich and debt ceiling on the table. the president seems unimpressed, and waiting for more, perhaps, far more. we'll find out if wall street legend and american his historis impressed with the negotiations, and the shift in those negotiations and what he expects to come of it all. pulitzer prize winning journalist, judy miller and michael goodwin among the guests

here tonight. jay carney said gun control is only part of the president's plan. he said it requires more than just legislation to prevent more shootings like friday's. fox news chief white house correspondent, ed henry, with our report. >> crowds in connecticut lined up for the first of 26 funerals starting with 6-year-old noah h posner, and in washington, they fell back into the ritual of vowing never again. >> twenty children who will never grow up to learn to drive or go on the first date. >> doesn't just break our hearts, but shatters them. >> yet neither senate leader called for gun laws, and at the white house, jay ce on specifics tied to theecrusade president obama hunted october. >> there's common sense measures that he believes should be taken

to help address this problem, but he made clear hat more needs to be done. >> reporter:ar more he has at that particular time that the president at that dramatic prayer service. >> i'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from law enforcement to mental health professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. because what choice do we have? >> reporter: today, new york city mayor, michael bloomberg, mocked the idea the fiscal cliff couldistract from the ability to come togethe on gun control. >> if congress and the president can't focus on two things on once, who on earth did we elect? >> reporter: in 20 # 11, the president made vows in tucson and wrote an op-ed noting it was time to finally stop gun violence ading, quote, like the majority of americans, i believe that t second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear ar, and, in fct, my administration has not curtailed

the rights of gun owners, but expanded them. carney was pressed to name one action th president has taken since then. >> i refer you to the justice department for specifics, but we have taken steps specifically on background checks to make the system thorough and complete. >> reporter: what might be differce after this tragedy is the children involved, making it more difficult for the national rifle association to stop action. today, twocentral democrats with ratings by the nra said for the first time they are open to new gun laws. warner tweeted this was a game changer, and mansion seemed to agree. >> this changed the dialogue, and it should move beyond dialogue. we need action. >> reporter: an area of possible agreement is snator diane feinstein reintroducing a ban on assault weapons, one specific carney says the president supports. the president and ice president met with cabinet secretaries

this afternoon to begin the work of figuring out what specific legislation they may come up with to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy. lou? lou: thank you, ed henry, fox news chief white house correspondent. first guest night says gun laws are a critical part of the national discussion, but the country also needs, he says, to respond to the ment health issues when it comes to mass shootings as well as the corrosive influence of the digital world and a culture of violation. joining us, former homeland security secretary, form earn governor of pennsylvania, tom ridge, who also served on the review panel to study the virginia tech shooting which claimed lives of 32 people. governor, glad to have you with us. let's start with, first, the call for legislation here, senator diane feinstein is putting forward something that looks, i'm sure, very familiar to you, and that is the assault weapons n which you supported when you we in congress back in 1994. what are your thoughts?

>> well, i think it's certainly understandable, lou, predictable, actually, that the first focus is on he instrumes of the tragedy, the instruments of war, and those are the firearms and the guns, but i think, and i hear with all the langue we're at a tipping point, this a game changer, and i heard the sme language after columbine, virginia tech, and same language after the aurora shootings, and we're hearing it again. unless we take a far more comprehensive look at the root causes of some of this violence, a single piece of legislation wi do little, may do some, some impact on reducing the risk of further tragedies such as this, but i think the effect will be limited. we have t talk about other rights and other challenges, the rights of privacy, mental health records, mental health treatment, and i think, in spite of the disagreement that i have with some people, that the corrosive impact of violence,

with mental health challenges, i think it has an impact on their view of life and as people without those challenges would look differently. lou: we are seeing, actually, somesurprising pronouncements from across the political spectrum,. senator joe mansion, whom you know, coming out to talk about banning assault weapons again. actor jamie foxx from the left, some argue the far left, actually talking about the need to constrain violence in hollywood in media. we're starting to see, at last here now more than 72 hours after the tragedy in connecticut, we're starting to see some sensibilityresent itself in terms of dealing straightforwardly and honestly with this issue. >> long overdue and should be welcomed by everybody in the conversation. if you take a look at the some of the more significant high profile incidents, lou, and

the horror associated with the murders and massive killings, and you go back and look at the perpetrators, and you take a look at their self-expressions of either suicidal tendencies or told others of their intent to kill, these were planned activities in many instances, self-destructive behavior. many had certainly in the case in virginia tech, a clear pattern of mental health illness. as a matter of fact, it was a deteriorating fact of mental illness. until we wrestle around the notion of stigmatizing mental health, figure out a way those being treated for mental health problems don't have access to firearms, and until we wrestle with the complicated problems of privacy, particularly with regardo medical conditions, i know they are focusing on guns and gun regulations, but unless we look holistically, unfortunately, the attern will repeat itself. lou: and the characteristics, you were talking about, the virginia tech shotings also,

are an analog for the gunman in tucson, and appear, at least some of those characteristics, to appear in this tragedy in newtown, connecticut. in so little discussion from one event to the next to try to understand the psychology, the context, and the public policy canvas that's relevant. we are looking at what's been over the course of the last 250 years,and extraordinary series of public policy decisions whe it comes to mental health, as you well know in the country many of them a travesty and for which were paying very, very high price ndeed. >> sadly, lou, gain, shows like yours and others that have a way to fashion the discussion really needs to be a rational thoughtful discussion about measures we can take and predictably and understandably, guns will be a focus, but the

complexity of the issue is far more thank dealing with instruments of terror. think of all the parties and celebrations around this holiday season, and can you imagine a conversation when tey ask how is your son doing? well, pretty well, but mental health problems, under treatment and therapy. we stigmatized mental health, but we don't do that with alcoholism or drug abuse. it's a problem, we have to get our arms around it, and those with mental health problems should not hhve access to firearms. there's her changes that i think would be legitimately considered. columbine, lieu, there -- lou, therewas a straw buyerr or two, bought the weapon and gave it to someone else. you knew he was under a special justice for the virginia court, a danger to himselfn the mmunity, and, yet, he was ale to buy a firearm. the complexity called for discussion, and not just focusing on a piece of

legislation. lou: governor tom ridge, thanks for being with us. hope you're a part of the conversation right here. >> thank you, lou, thank you very much. lieu -- lo mh more on calls for gun control and ineffectens in curtling violence. we'll be talking about that and we'll be introducing something that's often alien to those discussions. we'll be introducing some facts. first a tripto asia. now she has a concussion that will keep secretary of state clinton from testifying on benghazi. is there a risk now of amnesia? we only ask because we care. taxes in spending on the table, house speaker boehner offering the president higher taxes on peop makingore than a million and asked for a trillion in spending cuts.

lou: president obama has rejected yet another fiscal cliff offe from speaker boehner as the two appear to be moving closer t one another, believe it or not. the market rising despite all of the uncertainty, just the suggestion of possibility of market thrills today, and lou lerman joining us in a moment to give us insights and sparking enthusiasm, and not even a tax on conservatives, and no word from thewhite house can stop the bulls from running off, at least a bit for the day, the dow posting its best gape this month, up 100 points, and s&p up almost 17. the nasdaq gaining almost 39,

just over 39 points. all indexes back up above their 200 moving day averages for those of you who care, and 3.4 billion shares traded on the big forward, and -- board, and we all care about that. three movers on the ow, two top performers of the year, bk of america up another 4% today, racking up a gain on the year-to-date of 87%. the bigwinner on the today, however, number one dow rformer this year, and hewlitt-pack card losing two and a third today, and deutsche bank with an outright sell on the stock, ouch. home depot up 6% on the year, making it the second best performing dow stock. gasoline prices lowest price of the year, average price $3.25, a cent higher than a year ago this time. crude oil closing above $87 a barrel, and year on the ten-year

note creeping hirer at 1.67%. in the last four years, amount of debt in foreign hands risen by a not so modest 78% to a record $5.5 trillion of foreign holders, china number one followed by japan, bril disa, -- brazil, a assistant third. the cliff negotiations, speaker boehner's offer of a tax rate hike for those making more than a million a year, and speaker boehner reportedly also willing to postpone the debt ceili issues for at least a year, unclear how. ite house aides cite it as progress. joining us lou lehr man, american historian, and great american. >> great to be here always, lou. lo this is wonderful to watch. the equity market responds at just the suggestion that the two

men are actually talking, if talking by one another. what are your thoughts? >> well, he fearand trem ling -- trembling that's spread all over the untry and the world about american falling off thecliff, and thus a recession in the united states, the biggest economy in the world, can cause a temporary spurt in activity; however, it shouldn't be forcen freeding this was the federal reserve's qe4 announcement, a trillion dollars in a single year, recreation of new money, money makes it go. lou: you are suggesting thata lousy extra $45 billion a mnth from th fed in the market will have greater influence than just a whisper between boehner and the president? >> the -- oh, i fear i am saying that, lou. look, i mean, the amount of money, which is being created by the federal reserve system and

foreign central banks to finance the u.s. trash -- treasury makes it a situation where americans cannot appreciate the fiscal cliff sit. the deficit goes on as if there were no deficits because the banks are printing money to finance it. lou: with the projection that we're looking at a federal reservebalance sheethat will expand by a trail dollars over the course of e -- trillion dollars over the course of the next 12 months. that's sigicant funding into the monetary system. what do you think? is it a fore gone conclusion we'll see finally, and i'm not encouraging, but saying, finally, the true inflation? >> my own forecast for what it's worth is that the inflation will not really pick up until the unemployment rate falls much closer to 6%. the wages are so much under control that it's made, actually, the working people of america much more competitive

with their competitive nations road which, i think, will be one of the surprises next year that we may do better next year, even under fiscal cliff arrangements. lou: can we dobetter if the working man and woman in the country is not doing better? it's not a matter of polemics or ideology, but we watched the working man and woman in the country, their wages, effectively stagnant over the course of the last three decades. we have watched the share of national income that goes to corporations rise to the ighest level since the great depression. we have smething amiss here. it's in fiscal policy, monetary policy, and we don't seem to have anybody talking about how to correct it. >> well, i certainly agree with you that without working people, middle income families having a rising standard of living, we are not going to see the kind of prosperity that america witnessed since the birth of the republic uabout a

decade and a half ago. the real issue is that workers get wage increased, and lulled into the leaf they are getting wage increase, and the problem is the price level for them, the cost of living, bsics, is rising faster than their wages, which, of course, causing the standard of living to fall. the key is raising the savings rate, and savings go in new investment and production requiring hiring more employees at higher and higher wage rates. lou: we have to start businesses and really need economic growth so there's money to save, i think? >> we can't do that, though, unless interest rates rise above 0 giving incentive to everybody to save money and offer that in the capital markets to create now jobs, plants, factories, and products. lou: that prospect a ways off? >> i'm always very hopeful, lou,

great country, great possibilities, we have a chance to do it i thnk. lou: that was not a no, dobbs, you're wrong, but i'll take the inspiration and say thank you very much. good to see you. >> thank you. lou: "the hobbit" crusing the competition and record books. debut weekend highly profitable for warner brothers, middle earth epic bringing in nearly $85 million setting anew record r the biggest december opening of all time, more than three times the amount of mone brought in by the other our top films combined bringing in just $27 million, dream works "rise of the guardians" "lincoln," "sky fall," and "life of pi" bringing in $37 million a piece. stocks of studios rising today with warner brothers leading them. the tragic events at sandy hook elementary school spurring calls for gun control in the "chalk

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lou: first of all, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who suffered an unimaginable loss to connecticut. i agree with mr. obama when he said, we cannot tolerate this any more. he is right. we are tolerating s much that we should not in this country. tory members of almost 500 people in one city and reserve the national befora charge each other and six adults slated -- slaughteredn a matter of minutes.

should there be up presence it in chicago? perhaps as well as a speech by the president to the nation. don't misunderstand me. i applaud his words in the time he shared with the families and citizens estivate, but i would also urge reflexion and consideration of the facts when we know him and we should take into account the fact that we do know. chicago right now is the murder capital of this country. those killings in chicago have risen by 20 percent over the past year. up 20%. despe the almost always fact that chicago as one of the toughest gun-control laws of any city in the country. the president called for change, and changes under wa. a federal appellate court tossed at the state of illinois ban of concealed weapons. it was the last states to deny

that right to its citizens. and the five-year time frame from 2006-2011, 2006-2011. a lot of facts, but fact that we need to assemble and examine together if are to have a national discussion, and there will be more and more each side on this broadcast. in that timeframe, the number of firearms botanists in virginia rose by an astonishing 73%. just firearms. 73 percent. the total number of gun-related violent crimes, however, fell 24% in that five-year time frame . in fact, violent crime in this country has been steadily plumbing since 1990, something a

lot of people are not taking note of. in 1990, almost 2 milon violent crimes were committed. last year 201, that number had fallento just under one and a quarter million. 600,000 fewer crimes as our population grew by tortilla 5% at the number includes mass shootings. in the 2000's there were 26 down from 42 in the 1990's. something else has changed. in 1990, gallup reported 78 percent of those surveyed, 78 percent wanted stricter, tougher gun laws. today that number is 44%. what is the right answer?

we will come to a decision about that, and national consensus, if you will if our political leaders, community leadees, national leaders accept the eddy that there cannot be a rush to judgment that reflex -- reflexive response, but rather an intelligent assessments of the facts that we don't even know yet in newtown, conn., facts that we have to keep in mind as we assess what is happening in our society, the influence of media, culture, and, again, we will, in this discussion, if our leaders live up to their titles, assess the facts. actor jamie foxx is changing his act. just last week that he said he was happily killing all the white people. he is not so happy this week. the cry for gun-control rising. it is deafening, in fact.

the far left putting the second amendment up for a rewrite, and guns upper confiscation. we wl take the argument with the "a-team." syria tonight appears on the verge of collapse. egyptians not as entusiastic for the new constitution as among other active of muslim brotherhood would like.

♪ lou: the state department sponsored report examining the september 11th attack and the u.s. consulate in benghazi has been completed, and now allin secretary clinton's hands, for that matter, but the secretary will ballowed to testify before congress without -- about those findin or anything else because she has a concussion. joining us now populous a prize-winning journalist and fox is intruder, editor of a -- along were journal, a senior

fellow at the foundation for the defense of democracy, and it is good to have you with us. let me begin with you. this report, is it,in your judgment, going to allay concerns, answer the questions that are posed about what happened and who is impossible for the events and benghazi? >> i am optimistic it will sell of light all of the questions that you and other people have been asking repeatedly about benghazi because pinkeon, the man who is in charge of tis is really experienced. he has seen all of the kind of excuses before, and he know how to assign blame. lou: do you agree? >> i don't agree as much. i think washington certainly has a culture of covering for each other. i don't see that this report -- i suspect there will be a lot of ops vacation on the point of who

is actually responsible. in thewake of september 11th no one resigned him and no one was fired, and i dn't expect any fee to be held to the fire for incident like benghazi. lou: the accountability. the fact is, one pitiful to my guess we can call him producer of a amateurish video, that person is in jail. there has been no other accountability for the events that transpired. but i want tech, just to support his point there, i want to turn to, if i may, secretary clinton's absence from the congressional inquiry process. she saad she did not want to testify. the first time she was in asia with the president's. the second time she had said this did not want to testify. the third time she said she had a concussion and then everyone, of course, all of us would be concerned about her well-being,

but the confession came at the most for to this time. are you at all suspect, suspicious of hat? >> well, in washington and even in new york, one must be suspicious of all claims of this kind. however, i do believe that if a doctor says she has a concussion, she has a concussion. whether or not it is the most politilly fortunate call at this point, i don't know, but i must say, i think that in a report like this, ambassador pickering is going to have to answer some of the questions that have been raised and blame live to be assigned. there are four dead americans. we cannot just forget about them copper tended to not happen. we have to ask tough questions about security, and we're going to. hillary clinton has been a master at dodging either appearing on air. she put out susan rice to do that. she has bee a master so far encouraging responsibility.

lou: if i make -- >> except she said i sceptres of stability before the president did. lou: it was such a stampede that one gets lost in some of the numbers. but i think we have to point out that the facts are that she says , ambassador rise, that she appeared on those stations not at the request of secretary taunton, but rather the white house itself. i don't know if that is a distinction without a difference. you be the judge. your final thoughts on what we can reasonably hope for. the heck with hope for. to you think we can reasonably expect something here? >> what i think we should hope for, though, is that we -- lou: okay. hope for. >> the white house scrub the mention of terrorist groups on the talking points. i think all of this talk about susan rice is sort of a deflection om that issue, and the press neds ask these

quesons. would like to think that this report would get to the bottom of it, but it seems like everybody is turning the other way and running instead of taking responsibility for modifying the talking points. we knew within 12 hours of the attack that there were terrorists involved, and yet we told that this attack came out of some protest. that is not the case. there was never a protest. it was an organized, armed attack on the council, and the american public should be made aware of that. fortunately, they were not given the truth prior to the election. lou: a workman point of fact, i'm proud to say to my associate with fox news, they were apprised of those facts. in fact, the fact that a group had posted on its website a warning of the attack before it occurred as well as timing credit for it after it had. i take your point, and that thank you for being here and hope you'll come back soon. thank you so much. >> thank you, other.

lou:oming up tomorrow, armed services and judiciary committee member joining us. deutsche bank chief tillable economist and managing direor. veteran, democratic strategist and a politica analyst among our guests. we hope you will be with us tomorrow evening. stay with us here as the "a-team" tells us how the speaker plans to solve that deal , brimming wth concessions to the president's. it all to his republican and discernible ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year,

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♪ lou: jamie foxx says hollywood shares some of the blame for tragedies like the school shooting. over the weekend, we cannot turn our backs to say that violence in films or anything that we do does not have a sort of influence. just last weekend, oking about

violence, racial violence, and his new movie. >> i have to wear chains. how lax is that? but don't be worried about it becausei save my wife and i kill all the white people in the vie. how great is that? lou: not so great. fox defended the remarks saying, he is a comedian. he also said that as a black person ever single thing in my life is built around race. well, perhaps not after his most recent comments. perhaps it has been a journey over the course of the past week for him. roaring backlash against the union leader in michigan and issued a straight to the state's governor, republican governor before he signed the right to work legislation last week. [inaudible]

>> you sign that bill, you won't get no rest. [inaudib] lou: the threat of hassment chemical made the trek pastor. meanwhile, reports hat indiana ccesses right to work legislation prompted michigan to embrace right to work. according to indiana's lead economic development agency, 31 companies moving to indiana as eric dict result of its ght to work law which has resulted in 3700 new jobs, $430 million of n investments. jor concessions trying to get a deal.

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♪ lou: joining me now, the "a-team", pulitzer prize-winning columnist, fox news contributor, former special assista to president george w. bush, and from boston, democratic strategist. and i have to start, folks -- we just received word that the president has offered this counteroffer to the speaker of the house, whch includes 1 trillion in revenue hikes on individual income as opposed to the one-and-a-half permanent provisions.

low 400,000. the above would go t clinton rates, so that is about a doubling of the position and somearious other minor items like 1 trillion in spending reductions and combine the way, the removal of sequestration. at the same time, and this is one that i think is, ifyou will, the snake in the battle, and texas, fast-track process these for corporate and individual tax reform and spending reform. fast-track authority means turning congress -- setting aside the constitution in turning over its powers to the white house. how does that sounto you? we will start, if we may comee3 with you? >> it's interesting. an offer that the president rejected. the president still has the upper hand and said negotiations , and now he has countered. it will be interesting because

he is offering a tax ike. $1 million, obama rejected, yet he has yet to convince his own caucus tat higher taxes on the highest earners is a good idea. it will be interesting to receive top -- csi receive this counter by the president. >> qaeda y think there will receive it? >> not well at all. righght now we're taking in sumr and a never read a $2 trillion in spending over three when bill clinto lefty was spending about 1 trillion. the president in counteroffer and say that we're going back, but we need to have a response or reduction in federal spending, so i don't think this will pass the house. lou: i think that he is basically right. the speaker will have a very hard time, and i think the president has made it harder, which is, part of the speculation that the president does not really want a deal because he is not giving him anything they can sell.

the president has to do muh better and spending deductions. that is the only way he can have any possible hope of selling it. lou: we have seen what happened with this speaker and his caucus, particularly when it was fortified with a strong and robust tea party cdre. he does not have that, but he has not learned from that experience, to have the support of his caucus before he steps into the arena with obama, i would be shocked at the man. wouldn't you? >> i would. it is hard. he is a mentor of mine, and i have known him for over 20 years. he should learn exactly what happened with newt gingrich that lou: he was there. he knows very well. >> of the republican speaker school by the president of the united states. for that and that alone he would

recognize that he is negotiating an instance of. lou: do you think he has the supporof his caucus is what i am really asking? >> i think he has the suprtof this caucus to be speaker would not when it comes to rate increases in taxes without a signature reduction in spending in a tenement. lou: a signicant reduction in spending. what -- i mean, this is a matter of -- i mean, we have since then bowles 3-1 spending cuts to tax increases and this president and the speaker for that matter are talking about 1-1. tax hikes to spending cuts. i mean, this is how fr obama and to use your word has cool them. this is not going to be palatable to the caucus. a democratic strategist. >> well, it probably won't, but here's the real point. president obama does not have to offer any of this on any matter. he has thesupport of public opinion.

the speaker does not have the support of his own caucus. he is getting squeezed on both sides. the president learned from his last go around that he is not going to negotiate against itself. while he has the upper hand, the support of the public. he has come back with this counter. and the speaker is left once again try to sell to his caucus after already throwing committee members on the bus to send the message to the caucus that he expects everyone to lineup. he as a toh job, and we will see if he can do it. lou: i want to conclude on gun control, the drumbeat that we have been talking about throughout the show. does it go anywhere this time? >> i believe we will see something, and i think as with the fiscal cliff, we can see it to ships -- two steps. in the legislation dealing with magazines and he ammunition issue on the assault rifles. and i personally like joe lieberman is idea of a larger conference or commission on violence which would get to a number of other issues beyond

just can't control. >>ay be. i just don't know that has the support of the house. think passing another law to deal with this issue is not the real solution. we need to look at our conscience and recognize we are debasing human lives. idon't know that the comptroller get this done. lou: 15 secos. >> a look, if we cannot protect six year-old children, what can we do? congress did not do it for their own colleague. i hope they do for the study children. lou: thank you very much. we appreciate. now,or your comments. michael ron facebook, an increase means more borrowing. that is the wrong direction. we need spending cuts. that's it for us tonight. we thank you for being with us. good nig from new york.